The invention relates to a device and to a process for the automatic synthesis of macromolecules, in particular oligonucleotides, and to the use of such a device.
Synthetic oligonucleotide sequences are routinely produced in machine-assisted processes. Nucleoside amidophosphites, nucleoside H phosphonates or other monomer or oligomer building blocks of biological or abiologically modified nucleic acids which are described in the literature are in this case used as synthons (Sonveaux, E. (1986) Bioorg. Chem. 14, 274-325; Uhlmann, E. and Peyman, A. (1990) Chem. Rev. 90: 544-584). The synthesis operations are as a rule carried out with solid phases. Typically, the automatic instruments used for the oligonucleotide synthesis operations are designed in such a way that the substrate materials are used in granulated form. With these as a solid bed in a column, reagents, solvents and other liquid phases flow through them. In a similar way, membranes are used as solid phases which can be washed thoroughly. The liquid phases are generally metered with time control using a process computer in a commercially available synthesis machine. The chain propagation takes place in steps. For each addition of a monomer, a multi-stage reaction cycle is carried out. The yield obtained in a chain propagation cycle is generally measured on separation of the protective group by spectroscopic or other analytical methods.
Examples of granulated substrate materials in common use include silica gel, controlled pore glass, polystyrene, composite materials, etc. in the form of irregularly shaped articles or spheres of varying diameter. For macroporous non-swellable substrate materials, concentrations of the order of 0.8-0.9 xcexcmol nucleoside/m2 external and internal surface area have been measured, irrespective of the material (Kotschi, U. (1988) Dissertation, University of Ulm, Germany). Routinely, batches in the region of about 0.2 xcexcmol to 1 xcexcmol of growing chains are run in machines.
The simultaneous synthesis of a plurality of oligonucleotide sequences can, on the one hand, on purely preparative basis be carried out by increasing the number of columns filled with polymer substrate which are to be operated, and on the other hand substrate-filled cartridges may be incorporated, for example in a stackable arrangement, in parallel in synthesis cycles of, the same type (Seliger, H. et al. (1989) Bioengineering 6: 144-147).
Recently, surface-functionalized two-dimensional materials have also frequently been used as substrates for parallel oligonucleotide synthesis operations. These include glass plates (Maskos, U. and Southern E. M. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20: 1679-1684), silicon wafers (Pease, A. C. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 5022-5026), as well as surface-functionalized polypropylene sheets (Matson, R. S. et al. (1994) Analytical Biochemistry 217: 306-310). The aim with all these substrate methods involves fitting the largest possible number of xe2x80x9csynthesisxe2x80x9d points on a given substrate area, in order thereby to pursue analytical/diagnostic goals.
The number of oligomer sequences to be synthesized in parallel is limited, in the case of conventional commercially available synthesis machines, on the one hand by the equipment outlay and on the other hand by the arrangement of the substrate elements in the stack. Permanent utilization of the available instrument capacity is therefore not possible because of idle times, since the individual cartridges always need to be manually taken from the synthesis machine and re-connected.
In the two-dimensional substrates used for analytical/diagnostic goals, the amounts of oligonucleotides synthesized per xe2x80x9cpixelxe2x80x9d are extremely small (in the lower picomol range), that is to say normally unsuitable for preparative purposes. Furthermore, the purity of the oligonucleotide material grafted onto a xe2x80x9csynthesis pointxe2x80x9d is limited by the resolution of the xe2x80x9cpixelsxe2x80x9d, that is to say it is generally very difficult to prevent one oligonucleotide synthesis xe2x80x9cspreadingxe2x80x9d to neighbouring synthesis points.
In contrast to these works, the inventors of the present application even earlier prepared polypropylene sheets by chemical surface functionalization in such a way as to allow nucleoside concentrations of 5-7 nmol/cm2 (50-70 xcexcmol/m2). Such two-dimensional substrates which are loaded with extremely high concentrations, although exclusively on the surface, make it possible to carry out oligonucleotide synthesis operations on surface segments in the cm2 range and, this being the case, to produce a sufficient quantity of nucleotide sequences for biochemical/preparative studies (Seliger, H. et al. (1995) Reactive and functional polymers 26:119-126). The extraordinarily good accessibility of the surface concentration for dissolved reagents has been demonstrated by the synthesis of an oligonucleotide comprising 200 bases in a single synthesis operation (Bader, R. et al. (1997) Nucleotides and Nucleosides 16: 829-833).
German patent document DE 42 06 488 A2 describes a device for carrying out simultaneous or sequential chemical reactions, which consists of four rods which are placed on top of one another and whose contact surfaces form an air-tight seal.
European patent application EP 0 385 433 A2 describes a device for continuous polymer synthesis, in which a tape-like substrate sheet is passed through a plurality of dipping baths.
WO 96/15450 describes a microelectronic semiconductor array which is subdivided in grid fashion into individual reaction fields. Reagents can be applied to the individual fields.
An article by J. Weiler et al. (1996, Analytical Biochemistry 243: 218-227) describes a device for oligonucleotide synthesis and its application in DNA sequencing. A polypropylene sheet is brought into contact with elongate reaction chambers. After a first reaction step, the sheet is rotated through 90xc2x0 and a further coupling reaction is carried out.
An article by R. S. Matson et al. (1995, Analytical Biochemistry 224, 110-116) describes oligonucleotide synthesis on polypropylene substrates and its application in the location of genetic defects.
In the dissertation by Raoul Bader, University of Ulm, Germany, 1996, a manually actuable device was described, with the aid of which oligonucleotides can be synthesized on a functionalized tape-like substrate sheet with the use of a conventional synthesis machine (the most important results of this dissertation were described in brief by R. Bader et al. in Nucleosides and Nucleotides, 16, 835-842 (1997)). The device described there and in Bader""s dissertation has a synthesis module which can be sealed from the outside and comprises reaction chambers and fluid lines for filling and emptying the reaction chambers with and of reaction media, it being possible to introduce the tape-like substrate material into the synthesis module and bring it into contact with the reaction chambers by pressing two elements of the synthesis module together.
When the two module elements are again released from one another, the sheet tape can be transported forwards through a particular distance which corresponds to the separation between two synthesis chambers. By transporting the substrate sheet, for example a polypropylene strip, a linear sequence of synthesis fields can be produced on the strip, which contain either sequentially independent or sequentially overlapping oligonucleotides. With this manual device, it was possible to demonstrate the principal function of the synthesis process proposed by Bader et al. The known device is, however, not suitable for the automatic synthesis of macromolecules on a tape-like substrate material, and in particular the accuracy with which the substrate sheet is positioned in the synthesis module is poor with manual adjustment.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device which allows automatic synthesis of macromolecules on a two-dimensional substrate material, in particular on a tape-like two-dimensional substrate material, and which avoids dead times during the synthesis. The device is, in particular, intended to be capable of carrying out all the necessary steps fully automatically following one-off setting of the process parameters and the desired sequence.
This object is achieved by the device for the automatic synthesis of macromolecules on a tape-like substrate material according to the present main claim.
The device comprises at least one synthesis module which can be sealed from the outside and comprises reaction chambers and fluid lines for filling and emptying the reaction chambers with and of reaction media, it being possible to introduce the substrate material into the synthesis module and bring it into contact with the reaction chambers. According to the invention, the device furthermore comprises transport means which are intended to move the substrate material through a particular distance and can be actuated by a control device.
According to the invention, it is accordingly proposed to provide controllable transport means which allow the substrate material to be moved through a particular distance. In this case, the control device preferably interacts with a synthesis machine, known per se, which provides the necessary reagents for the condensation of the monomers onto the sequence which is being formed on the substrate tape and controls and monitors the overall reaction cycle. After each condensation step, the synthesis machine sends a signal to the control device for the transport means, and the tape is transported forward through a particular distance which corresponds precisely to the spacing of the reaction chambers in the synthesis module. If the reaction chambers are arranged linearly in the direction of movement of the substrate tape, thenxe2x80x94apart from the first synthesis chamber in the movement directionxe2x80x94all the synthesis chambers lie on fields of the sheet where the coupling of a monomer was carried out in the preceding step.
The substrate material used may, for example, be a polypropylene sheet (PP sheet) which has been subsequently functionalized on the surface. During this functionalization, hydroxyl groups at which the oligomer synthesis can be carried out are inserted on the surface. During a coupling step, the reaction chambers must be capable of being readily and completely filled with the required reagents and emptied. During the oligonucleotide synthesis, for example during the coupling of a nucleoside phosphoric acid ester amide, care must be taken to work under stringently non-aqueous conditions, whereas water is needed in the subsequent oxidation step. The reaction chambers must also be capable of being sealed as well as possible from the outside, and in particular care must be taken to work under absolutely air-tight conditions during the oligonucleotide synthesis.
The transport means preferably comprise a first motor-driven traction means which is arranged behind the region where the substrate material emerges from the synthesis module. This may, for example, be two rollers which can be pressed against one another and between which the substrate tape is clamped. One of the rollers may be driven using a motor, so that the substrate tape is transported when the motor is actuated. If the substrate tape is a relatively flexible sheet, then one-directional transport of the substrate tape is possible with such an arrangement. If the substrate is relatively rigid, then two-directional transport can be obtained by switching over the running direction of the motor.
The control device may, for example, be a special microcontroller. It is, however, also possible to use a correspondingly programmed conventional computer, for example a laptop or a workstation with a suitable interface.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention, the transport means furthermore comprise a second motor-driven traction means which is arranged in front of the region where the substrate material enters the synthesis module.
According to this embodiment, two-directional transport of the tape can be carried out even in the case of a flexible sheet. Depending on the direction in which the tape is being moved, one traction means works as a drive, while the traction means arranged on the opposite side of the synthesis module is operated in idle mode. In the case of two-directional transport of the tape, oligomer sequences whose length corresponds to a multiple of the number of reaction chambers can be synthesized. Compared with increasing the number of reaction chambers, oligomer sequences with a smaller overlap range may thus be synthesized, for example.
Irrespective of whether only one traction means or two tractions means are provided the roller pair which is only being used as a guide will preferably have some degree of friction so that the tape is always transported under some degree of tension.
The traction means are preferably driven by stepper motors. With stepper motors, precise and reproducible moving and positioning of the substrate tape can be achieved. The control device may in this case carry out absolute displacement by specifying a particular number of steps of the motor for a particular displacement. It is, however, also possible to use a substrate tape which is provided with tape marks, so that the exact position of the tape can be monitored, for example using optical sensors whose signals are in turn processed by the control device.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the synthesis module has sealing lips in the regions where the substrate material enters and emerges, respectively. In a simple embodiment of the device according to the invention, the synthesis module may be sealed using sealing lips which are provided directly on the regions where the substrate tape enters and emerges, respectively.
In a particularly preferred variant of the device according to the invention, each synthesis module comprises at least two module elements which can move relative to one another and are respectively assigned to the upper and lower sides of the substrate tape, at least one module element being connected to an actuating means which can be actuated by the control device and makes it possible to press the two module elements tightly against one another in such a way that they can be released. If, as in the case of oligonucleotide synthesis, care must be taken to ensure a complete air seal, a two-piece design of the module elements is preferable. The two module elements may in this case be moved against one another and enclose the upper and lower sides of the substrate tape between them. In order to transport the substrate tape, the module elements are released and the tape is free to move between them. In order to carry out a synthesis step, the module elements are pressed against one another by actuating means, so that on the one hand the substrate tape is fixed in this position and, on the other hand, the reaction chambers are hermetically sealed from the surroundings. The actuating means are likewise actuated by the control device, so that automatic coordination of the releasing of the module elements and the transporting of the substrate tape is ensured.
The reaction chambers are customary arranged in one of the module elements. If, however, macromolecules are to be synthesized in parallel on both sides of the substrate tape, reaction chambers are preferably provided in both module elements.
The actuating member is preferably a pressure cylinder, for example a pneumatically or hydraulically actuable cylinder. The pressure cylinder may be of double-acting design, that is to say the cylinder piston has pressure applied to it in both working directions. It may also be spring-loaded.
In an advantageous embodiment, each reaction chamber has an inlet opening and an outlet opening, via which the reaction chamber communicates with the fluid lines. If the reaction chambers are of elongate design, the openings are preferably located at the ends of the chambers.
The fluid lines for the delivery and discharge of the reaction media may, for example, be designed as manifold lines which split off into lines to the individual chambers. Preferably, however, a connecting channel is provided between at least two reaction chambers.
Advantageously, the reaction chambers and their connecting channels are arranged in meander fashion.
The present invention also relates to the use of the device described above for the synthesis of oligonucleotides bound to a functionalized substrate material.
It is primarily suitable for the production, of oligonucleotide libraries, in particular for the production of oligonucleotide libraries with overlapping sequences.
A particularly preferred use is to be found in the production of diagnostic test strips.
It is also suitable for the production of test strips for DNA sequencing.
Lastly, the invention relates to a process for the automatic synthesis of oligonucleotides on a substrate tape using a synthesis device having a synthesis module comprising at least two module elements, in which the substrate tape is transported into the synthesis module and positioned there, the synthesis module is sealed from the outside by pressing the two module elements together, a synthesis step is carried out with the aid of a conventional synthesis machine, the two parts of the synthesis module are then released from one another and the tape is moved forward through a defined distance and re-positioned. According to the invention, the process is fully automated, with a clock signal, which is emitted by the synthesis machine and is receivable by a microcontroller which in turn controls actuators such as stepper motors, pneumatic presses and the like, being utilized for controlling and coordinating the transport and positioning of the substrate tape, the pressing of the module elements together, each synthesis step and the releasing of the module elements.
The synthesis product obtained is, in this case, because of the chosen dimension of the reaction chambers, chosen in accordance with the concentration of the tape-like two-dimensional substrate in such a way that there is sufficient material for virtually all further uses of the product.
Through using the two-dimensional substrate, fast and cost-efficient synthesis is possible. Using the two-dimensional substrate furthermore makes it possible to obtain high purity of the synthesis product, for which reason it is substantially possible to do without further purification steps. Since the device permits automatic transport of the two-dimensional substrate, the otherwise customary dead times of the synthesis machine are eliminated. Using the two-dimensional substrate with arbitrarily chosen length allows clear-cut allocation and location of the sequences which are produced on the substrate. The device can be operated using a wide variety of synthesis machines, and is therefore universally usable with virtually all instruments available on the market.